Planet Forge!

Devlog #8 - Final Polish and Release

Planet Forge is complete! This final stage was just refining the experience, cleaning up the code, and making sure it’s all ready to ship!

What I worked on

Instead of scrambling to add new features, just forced on improving the overall quality of the simulator. It looks a lot better now with a lot of .css changes that makes it look almost professional! Also put together the final README.

Completed

• Improved the overall layout/ spacing
• Refine the interface to be more consistent
• Added a few animations here and there
• Fixed minor UI/ response issues
• Multiple well documented commits to GitHub

Future Plans/ Improvements

• Additional Customization options for terrain, surface texture, cloud cover, etc.
• More detailed planet stats
• Export of Planet Cards as Images

Devlog #7 - Planet Save Feature

Added a button to save your custom made planet.

What’s New

Added a “Save Planet” button under the Planet Card, and a new “Planet Archive” section at the bottom. Added css styling for save button, archive grid, archive cards, and empty state.

Completed

• A “Save Planet” button that allows you to save with parameters
• A “Delete” button right under the saved planet
• A ‘loadArchive()’ that loads the page after saving to read fresh from localStorage rather than trusting the old DOM state
• Changed some text to lowercase so it looks a bit more friendly

Devlog #6 - Random Planet Generator

What’s been worked on

Added a “Generate Random Planet” button to the Controls panel, clicking it rolls new random values for size, color, atmosphere, moons, rings, all at once, and the sliders/ checkboxes actually move to show the new values! Everything downstream, the preview, the info panel, and planet card, updates automatically since it all reuses the same functions the manual controls already call.

Completed

• Added a Generate Random Planet button
• Randomized all current planet customization options
• Synced controls with generated planet
• Added a small loading animation and button feedback

Devlog #5

Got the first “collectible” planet update!

Fresh Updates

Added a Planet Card section below the main layout that puts together everything going on with the planet -> name, type, gravity, temperature (avg), atmosphere, habitability, and moon count, into one clean card. Each planet gets a rarity (Common -> Legendary), with a short description.

Completed

• Added a collectible Planet Card feature
• Displayed all generated planet info on the card
• Added rarity levels
• Generated short planet descriptions

Devlog #4 - Generating Planet Info

Finally it does more than just displaying a shape, you can actually simulate something!

What I’ve Worked On

Built out the Planet Information panel so it actually generates data instead of showing the random placeholder text I had previously added. Every time you tweak any of the controls, the planet gets a new name, type, gravity, temp, atmosphere, and habitability all recalculated based on the current size, color, and atmosphere settings. The rules behind these are pretty straightforward (bluer planets run colder, bigger planets have higher gravity), but it’s enough to make each change lead to a new planet!

Completed

• Added automatic planet name generation (will work on custom names in next updates)
• Generated planet types using simple parameter rules
• Calculated basic gravity values
• Added estimated temps
• Displayed some kind of atmospheric composition
• Added a habitability rating
• Connected all this info to the existing customization controls

Devlog #3 - Expanding Planet Appearances

Added parameters beyond just size and color to Planet Forge.

What’s New

I added a few more ways to customize the planet’s look, there’s not a toggle for an atmosphere glow, a toggle for rings, and a slider to add up to 3 moons. All these connect straight to the preview, so flipping the checkbox or dragging a slider updates the planet right away. I also make the rings and moons scale and position themselves based on all the changes.

Completed

• Added an atmosphere toggle
• Added a planetary ring toggle
• Added a moon count slider
• Connected all controls to the live planet preview
• Improved the overall appearance of the generated planet
• Tried to simplify the interface

Devlog 02 - Theme Refresh & Basic Controls

Continued working on Planet Forge by improving the overall design and adding the first interactive controls!

Refreshing the Design

I redesigned the interface with a darker and cleaner look by removing the glassmorphism styling. I switched to flat panels with hard edges and thin borders.

Adding the First Controls

Once the layout was finished, I added the first two controls: 1] a slider to adjust the planet’s size and 2] a color picker to change its main color. It updates instantly!

Completed

• Redesigned the interface with a darker, cleaner appearance
• Switched to hard-edged panels with thin borders
• Added a planet size slider
• Added a planet color picker
• Connected both controls to the planet preview (for instant viewing)

Devlog #1 - Project Setup

Planet Forge - a browser-based planet creation simulator built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

The idea is to let users create their own planets by customizing different properties, generate a small report about the planet, and collect planet cards.

Setting Up

I created the basic project structure and put together the overall layout with a header, controls panel, planet preview, and information panel.

Completed

• Created the basic project structure using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
• Built the overall page layout
• Added a header, controls panel, planet preview panel, and information panel
• Created a rotating placeholder planet
• Added decorative stars in the background